Flu gets all the attention from Americans worrying about their health. Small wonder when we're amidst the worst flu epidemic in years. But now another plague, far more common than the flu, is poised to grab attention. The likely solution might be a shock — glowing mosquitoes.

Last month, the World Health Organization announced that dengue fever is now the world's "fastest spreading vector-borne viral disease with an epidemic potential." Dengue is 20 times more common than the flu, and there is no vaccination for it.

The best way to control this disease, which is slowly making its way into the United States, is with genetically modified mosquitoes. But deciding whether this is the best course of action is no small task.

The stakes are huge, and Americans need to be ready to make informed decisions.

The decision is upon us

The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District proposes releasing millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in Key West to prevent a broader dengue outbreak. There's good reason for the unprecedented step.

The only way to control the spread of the disease is by limiting the spread of the Aedes mosquitoes that carry it. The biting insects thrive in urban environments, leading to desperate attempts to prevent mosquito breeding in several countries. In Singapore, for example, a homeowner can be fined for leaving a single glass of water in a garden.

In Brazil, where dengue fever is endemic, health authorities recently opened a factory that will produce up to 4 million genetically modified fluorescent mosquitoes each week. If enough are released, they will mate with wild mosquitoes, resulting in larvae that glow so scientists can track them and that won't live to mate or bite a single soul. Mosquito populations will collapse.

Anxiety in Key West

Florida Keys Mosquito Control Director Michael Doyle is considering similar measures. The proposal has made the citizens of Key West anxious; they feel that insufficient research has been done to examine the possible dangers. A Web petition with more than 119,000 signatures has been circulated, drawing parallels between the unintended consequences of genetically modified crops and the unknown consequences of releasing genetically modified insects.

The majority of such fears are unfounded. There is no chance that birds or bats eating the mosquitoes will become genetically modified or that humans can be harmed if the mosquitoes bite them.

There are ecological concerns, particularly on the consequences of deleting an entire mosquito species. Removing the Aedes mosquitoes from the Keys could result in an explosion of other, more aggressive disease-carrying mosquitoes, such as the Asian Tiger mosquito.

Develop clear guidelines

How do you weigh the damage to the environment caused by mosquito pesticides with the pain and suffering caused by dengue fever, and also consider the unknown consequences of releasing genetically modified organisms into a fragile ecosystem? This is a decision that Americans are going to have to make, and soon.

But we should not act in haste. We need to develop a clear set of guidelines to spell out how or whether we'll allow any such release.

Genetically modified organisms might be the answer to combating the spread of many nasty diseases, but before they are released, everybody has to know that long-term consequences have been considered.

Marc Zimmer, a professor of physical sciences at Connecticut College, is author of Glowing Genes: A Revolution in Biotechnology.

In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors.